The Huron River bisects Ann Arbor with a winding swath of beautiful ponds and flowing water. Its steep bluffs and rich floodplains are protected by a patchwork of parks that comprise more than 1,000 acres of open water, forested hills, shorelands, and wetlands within the city limits.

One of the best riverside areas in Ann Arbor for a day of play, exploring, or rest is Cedar Bend. Close to downtown, the Huron River makes a full horseshoe-shaped bend around a flat floodplain while biting deeply into a 200-foot-high hill of glacial till. The Defiance Moraine is one of two ridges of glacial debris which give Ann Arbor its hilliness. A precipitous bluff at every bend in the river is created by the undercutting action of the water in its course to Lake Erie. Ruling the beautiful Cedar Bend are three contiguous city parks: Fuller Park, Island Park, and Cedar Bend Nature Area.

Fuller is the alluvial plain on the inside of the horseshoe; it has soccer fields, a lively public pool, and a wonderful wooden play structure. Island Park is a charming spot at the top curve of the horseshoe; reached only by bridges, the island has picnic facilities, a “Greek temple,” and a playground. Cedar Bend Nature Area, a natural area, claims the steep hill looking down on the whole horseshoe.

Cedar trees once distinguished this bend in the river. Cedar resists rot, so it was preferred for pioneer fence posts, waterwheels, and sluiceways used to pipe water from springs to other locations. Advances in technology soon created another demand for cedar: telegraph poles. By 1860 telegraph wires hanging from cedar poles carried messages from coast to coast. But locally, the biggest factor in the disappearance of the bend’s namesake trees was likely the drainage of the former wetland on the river’s north bank for farming. The south bank, where Fuller Park is today, also was used for agriculture—early settlers planted it with fruit trees.

The farmer who owned the north bank let Ann Arborites enjoy the area that is now Island Park for picnics, swimming, and baptisms. Likewise, the top of Cedar Bend Bluffs was opened by its several landowners to the public because of the outstanding view. In 1895, they constructed a scenic drive along the rim and called it Cedar Bend Boulevard. Once a prize of Ann Arbor, the boulevard attracted hundreds of carriages, walkers, and riders on a nice fall or spring Sunday. The blufftop lane offered a panorama of the river straight below, the prosperous university and town on the opposite hill, and the surrounding farmland rolling beyond.

Today, Cedar Bend Boulevard is a foot trail between two truncated ends of Cedar Bend Drive, one at each extremity of the original boulevard. In summer trees usually block the view, but the trail and cliff face are still a thrill, and, where you can see it, the ever-burgeoning skyline of Ann Arbor sprouts on the facing moraine. Whether exploring the bluff paths, wading in the river at the island, picking berries near today’s soccer fields, photographing the Greek temple, or in other ways enjoying this bend in the river, you’ll be taking part in a longstanding Ann Arbor tradition.

—Brenda Bentley

Brenda Bentley is author of the book Riverwalks Ann Arbor.